Disciples of Demonic Cultivation
by b90219
Summary: Based off of the XianXia Chinese drama, “The Untamed”— spoiler warning. When the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian, was discovered 16 years after his supposed death, the world once more thrown into a state of turmoil. Amidst the chaos, Baishi Sanren and her brother enter the mortal world for the first time together only to discover that it’s not at all what they were lead to believe.


Baishi had never been one for strictness, that was true, but even she was anxious when she broke her mother's rules. Yet she often did so, and if she were caught, she accepted punishment. It was long past sundown, and she was supposed to be in bed… but, instead, she was climbing a tree.

There were many trees in their 'village'— if one could even call the place where they lived a village. Baoshan Sanren had built one small home when she came to the celestial mountain, and over the years, she had only had a few more added in. Those who stayed on the mountain had helped her continue building, but there still was very little around. Sanren Baishi had never seen a real village though, so to her, this was normal. Yet Sanren Yong, her sworn brother, often told her of the cities he had seen before Baoshan Sanren took him in. They were magnificent and full to the brim of people and buildings… but the people were crowded and mean, especially to a skinny little orphan boy such as Sanren Yong. She doubted his stories, not believing that there could really be that many people in the world.

That was why Sanren Baishi was climbing the tree. It was the tallest tree she could find, and she was going to see if there were any crowded cities with bullies who picked on orphans. If they were that big, wouldn't she see one? After all, how big could the world really be? She had already decided that if she saw a city once she reached the top, she would believe Sanren Yong, but if not, she was going to call him a liar.

Yet when Sanren Baishi reached the top, the only thing she could look at for the longest time was the stars. They were hard to see through the thickness of the trees, and tonight, many stars were flying across the sky. Streaks of white flew past like birds in flight. I wonder where they will land, Sanren Baishi thought. How cruel that the stars see more of my world than I ever will. There were no cities around, when Sanren Baishi finally remembered to look, and that was nothing short of disappointing. Maybe if there had been a city, she would have built up the courage to leave the mountain.

Baoshan had strict rules. If one of her disciples left the celestial mountain, they were never to return. Only one disciple had ever risked it, and Baoshan had only helped him because he desperately needed her help. Baishi had not known the man before, but Baoshan had told her about him. His name was Xiao Xingchen, and he had come to beg Baoshan to give his eyes to his beloved friend. Baishi supposed that Baoshan had taken pity on him, but he was warned that if he were to return, he would pay a terrible price. At the time, it had confused Baishi— why would anybody return to the mountain after choosing freedom? She still didn't understand.

Time had passed by more quickly than Baishi had realized, because eventually, the sun began rising. She hurriedly climbed down the tree and snuck back into her room. By now, she would only have an hour at most to rest, but she shut her eyes and tried.

"Baishi." Baoshan's voice was firm, yet not unloving. It wasn't unpleasant to wake up to, but Baishi hadn't even recalled falling asleep. She was so tired that it felt like she had gotten no rest at all.

"Nnm." She responded, rolling over to face away from the doorway.

Ignoring Baoshan never worked, unfortunately. "Baishi, it's evening already."

That made Baishi's eyes shoot open. How had she slept so long? "What?!" She quickly flew out of bed only to look out the window and scowl. The sun was high in the sky and the birds were singing. "No it's not! Don't scare me like that!"

Baoshan nearly smiled, amused by Baishi's reaction. "We can call it even, then. Imagine how scared I was when I found you weren't in your bed last night."

Baishi's cheeks went red, and she averted Baoshan's eyes guiltily. "I was watching the stars. They were flying last night. Falling… I wanted to see where they were going."

"They fell to the earth only to discover chaos and death." Baoshan frowned, but she walked over to Baishi and gently brushed her hair out of her face. "Why do you worry so much about where the stars go? There is nothing out there anymore. The world isn't a good place."

Many years before Baishi was even born, Baoshan had come to this place. Baishi wasn't even sure how long it had been, and she thought that Baoshan had forgotten as well. "You don't know the world anymore. You haven't seen it in so long." Baishi smiled sheepishly, not giving any thought to how rude she had sounded until a few moments afterwards.

"You've never known the world, that is clear by how naively you view it." Baoshan said sharply. "Get yourself prepared. Breakfast is almost ready." She turned and left, the air thick with her annoyance.

"You've never given me the chance to know the world." Baishi mumbled to herself after Baoshan left.

Once Baishi was dressed and looking more acceptable than she had when she'd just woken up, she grabbed her sword and went to the dining room. Besides Baoshan, Sanren Yong, Sanren Shui, and Sanren Yi were all there. The latter two were her seniors who had chosen to stay with Baoshan throughout their time here. Baishi clasped her hands together and bowed, looking at the floor as she did so. "Senior Shui, Senior Yi, Madam Baoshan," she greeted them before sitting beside Sanren Yong. While he was technically a year older than her, they considered each other equals since he was raised alongside her. They began learning cultivation at the same time, and were more or less on the same level. Both of them excelled in different areas, but neither considered the other to be their senior.

"Good of you to join us. Our food is getting cold." Sanren Shui would have sounded rude if he had meant it in that way, but Baishi knew that he wasn't intending to be rude. He often spoke bluntly, but not harshly.

"A-Shi, you look unwell. Did you not rest enough last night?" Sanren Yi had a look of concern on her face. She was always so kind and worried about Baishi and Yong. "Make sure you eat enough, child."

Baishi smiled and nodded. "Yes, I did not rest well, but I will be fine."

The rest of breakfast went quietly, as Baoshan did not allow speaking during mealtime. It was seen as rude, apparently, but Baishi hated that rule. On the rare occasion where Baoshan did not join them, she and Yong would talk as often as they wanted during mealtime. After breakfast, they had to practice their cultivation. Baishi's seniors were masters at this point, but they sometimes joined in to help Baoshan teach. Most of the time, they went off to do chores or hunt in the woods. Baishi and Yong occasionally were permitted to join them on hunts, which was always exciting for Baishi.

Cultivation came easily to Baishi, but she didn't take it as seriously as Baoshan wanted her to. As the only child of Baoshan Sanren, Baishi felt that she had unrealistic expectations laid before her. Baoshan had always told her that she would become a great cultivator who would go on to teach younger disciples alongside Baoshan.

However… that wasn't what Baishi wanted. Every day, while they practiced, she dreaded the thought of doing this for the rest of her life. It wasn't cultivation that bothered her— it was the repetition. Baoshan had told Baishi the story of Wei Wuxian, and how that poor orphan boy had been sucked into a path of darkness. She didn't want that to happen to anyone else, so she was going to have Baishi to help her take on more orphans. The two of them, along with Yong and their seniors, would be able to raise even more orphan children. Unfortunately, the thought of that bored Baishi.

When they were finally given a break, Baishi and Yong sat on some of the rocks surrounding their village, both of them eating an orange. "You know," Baishi flicked a piece of her peel aside, "I climbed up the tallest tree and looked around. I didn't see any cities. I thought you said they were everywhere."

Yong chuckled, chewing on an orange slice. He seemed like he thought her statement was amusing. "Baoshan chose a secluded area. She wouldn't want to be easily found. Even I don't know quite where we are." He looked up, as if the clouds in the sky would give him answers. Yet they could hardly be seen, thanks to the thick trees shading them.

Baishi stared at him, studying his face for reactions. She knew how he looked when he was lying. They had been raised together, and he was her brother. Not by blood, but by oath, which was supposed to mean something. She realized that he was no longer the little boy that Baoshan had come home with one day. His black hair had grown to be well past his waist, but he kept it in a partial bun with just a sliver of hair framing each side of his masculine face. He wasn't muscular, but his facial features were sharp and toned. Baishi remembered when he was a chubby-cheeked kid. The memory made her smile. "Do you miss the cities?"

"Sometimes." Yong admitted, looking back at her. He smiled in return, beginning to peel a second orange. "I don't miss starving, or sleeping on the streets, though."

"But would you ever go back?"

It took Yong a few moments to deliberate, but he finally shook his head. "I would miss you too much."

"What if you took me with you?" Baishi asked suddenly, then realized what she'd asked. She looked around for Baoshan and felt relief to see that she wasn't around.

On the other hand, Yong was still paranoid. "We aren't allowed to leave. If we left, we could never return." He reminded her. "Baoshan says that rule applies to you, too. I owe my life to her, but you, Baishi… you're her true child. Leaving would mean so much worse for you, and it would mean losing the only family you have. I may be your sworn brother, and I would do anything to make you happy, but even I couldn't bring you back to your mother. You would miss her. Trust me."

Yong's parents had died when he was very little, but Baishi had never asked about the exact circumstances, and Yong never talked about it. She suspected that he didn't even remember, he just knew that they were dead. "But there's a whole life out there that I'm meant to be living. I know it." Baishi looked away from him, wondering if she would ever find the life that was calling to her. Would her mother always hold her back? "I know that I would miss her, but she would be free to visit me whenever she wanted to… after all, she already leaves to find disciples," Baishi pointed out.

Her brother sighed. "Let's not talk about this anymore. Even if I would take you with me, I'm not going," he reminded her. "I like it here. I'm thankful to Baoshan— this is where I want to be."

Yes, Baishi agreed, but nobody has ever considered where I would like to be. She knew that she was just being selfish, but she couldn't push her thoughts of a different life away. Adventure was out there… no, more than that: her purpose was out there, waiting for her, and she was rotting away on the celestial mountain.

The only person who was permitted to leave and return was Baoshan Sanren. She made trips to get supplies every so often, and returned with news of the outside world. Yong and Baishi were not allowed to hear of this news, but they always tried to eavesdrop on Baoshan's conversations with the senior disciples. Which was what the two of them were doing now.

Baoshan Sanren, Senior Shui, and Senior Yi were sitting around a table in Baoshan's personal room. They appeared to have saki— which was supposed to be forbidden, but Baishi knew that the older cultivators had it stashed away.

There was a window in Baoshan's room that she usually left cracked open just a tad, and the two of them stationed themselves outside of it.

"The market was bustling today," Baoshan said as someone poured a drink. Neither Baishi nor Yong could actually see, as they were crouched beneath the window, so they were only guessing what sounds were. "Apparently much is going on in the world."

"That's never a good thing." Senior Shui replied. He sounded detached, like he didn't care about the happenings of his old world. The cultivator had lived with Baoshan for over a hundred years, so he must have ceased caring.

Contrarily, Senior Yi always wanted to hear the gossip. It wasn't that she wanted to return to her old life, but it was probably out of boredom and nosiness that she always asked. "Like what?"

Somebody chuckled, which Baishi thought was Baoshan, but it was too low for her to be sure. "The Yiling Patriarch has been resurrected. We aren't sure how, but I could guess. Townsfolk are shaken to the core at the prospect of Wei Wuxian's return… if he shows his face to any of them, they're sure to drop dead."

"But Baoshan, haven't you always thought highly of the Yiling Patriarch?" Senior Yi asked.

"Mm… I have, because he has astounding power… but what he has done is unforgivable. Of course, I would never get involved, even if he is Cangse Sanren's son. Had I known that he was orphaned at the time, I would have taken him in myself." Baoshan mused sadly.

Yong and Baishi exchanged a glance. Baishi knew she looked intrigued, and Yong seemed worried. He had been born right before Wei Wuxian's death, and he'd heard stories of his horrors throughout the years he had lived in the outside world.

"Anyways, this matter does not involve us. We have more important things to focus on. Let us only hope that Wei Wuxian doesn't have plans to restore the Yin metals. Even here, we may not be safe from its wrath." Baoshan ended the conversation with that, and the three of them began discussing which cultivation techniques they would teach next.

Baishi crawled away from the window, standing when she was far enough away. Yong followed her as she went to their tiny little garden. "So the Yiling Patriarch has returned, hm?... I wonder if he ever really died."

The wind rustled the trees eerily as she spoke of Wei Wuxian. "There has always been rumors about him." Yong bent down and plucked a tomato off of the stem. Baishi decided to start picking vegetables, too— may as well work while they were there. "People would say that he was going to return one day and finish what he started. He would wipe out the Jiang clan first, then every other clan until he was the most powerful leader of all. Then, he would finally be Excellency…"

How scary, Baishi thought, sarcastically. "But if he's so powerful, why didn't he do that the first time? Maybe he didn't even want to be Excellency." She pointed out. "I mean, he destroyed the Stygian Tiger Seal, right?"

"Well, I wasn't there, but that's how the story goes. Who even cares, though? We don't have to worry about Wei Wuxian; he'll never come to the mountain, so he's not our problem." Yong pointed out.

"I guess so." Baishi suddenly felt bored with picking tomatoes. "But, A-Yong… I don't think it's right to not care about the outer world." He looked at her, furrowing his brow. Baoshan wouldn't like this conversation. Not from Baishi, anyways. "I… I feel like we should care— there are innocent people out there who will be hurt from the evil acts committed by the Yiling Patriarch. Shouldn't we mourn for their lives? Why can we sleep easily knowing that ghost puppets and demonic cultivators are running rampant?" She didn't even realize that she was raising her voice. The fact that nobody here cared about this upset her.

Yong put a hand on her shoulder and one finger to his lips. "Sh, shh… Baishi, you need to keep this to yourself. The outer world isn't for us to worry about, and especially not you… you're Master Sanren's child, by blood, and she would never allow you to leave. This is where you were born. It's your clan, your family… you have a life here to worry about. Your destiny doesn't lie out there."

These were Baoshan's words, but they were coming out of Yong's mouth. Baishi wondered if Yong was a type of puppet. She'd never seen a ghost puppet, so who knew? "I'm not going to stay here, A-Yong." She decided it then and there, but it felt right. Sometimes, she knew, gut decisions were the right answer. "Baoshan has her own life. I have mine. She chose to have a child, yes, but she can't make my decisions for me any longer. At sixteen, a normal cultivator would be studying from other clans, traveling, learning all that they could… I've learned all that I can from my mother. Now, I am going to go learn from the real world. There's nothing for me here."

Baishi pulled away from Yong, fighting tears as she walked away from him.

"A-Shi! Wait!" He called out, but she didn't turn back. There was something else she needed to do before leaving.

After Baishi and Yong had their disagreement, she figured he thought that she was being dramatic earlier. She had joined them all for meditation and dinner, acting as if everything was normal. In fact, she seemed rather happy. It wasn't until everyone went to their rooms that Biashi sought out her mother.

Baoshan Sanren always surprised her. She was a chaotic sleeper, sometimes sleeping for days, sometimes only a few hours. On this night, she was still awake. Baishi knocked on her door, noticing the light that shone from underneath. "Mother, I need to speak with you."

Almost instantly, Baoshan opened her door. "What is it, A-Shi?" She stepped aside to let her daughter in, raising an eyebrow when Baishi didn't budge.

"I've come to say goodbye." Baishi had a shocking lack of emotion to her tone, and she couldn't even focus her vision. There weren't any tears in her eyes, she just couldn't bring herself to the moment.

Yet Baoshan reacted less poorly than Baishi had anticipated. "I know."

That got Baishi to focus. She looked up at her mother, now raising her eyebrow. "You do?"

Baoshan gave a sad smile. "I've always known that this day would come, A-Shi. As much as I've tried to sway your wishes, you've stuck to yours decisions. You've always been a stubborn girl. I can't imagine where that came from." She chuckled weakly.

"You're disappointed in me." Baishi could tell it, but she wanted to hear it. Her mother was always strict and hard on her, so she figured there was no use in hiding it.

"No, A-Shi." Baoshan cupped her daughter's cheeks, wiping away tears that Baishi didn't even know were there. "I'm sad. You have grown into a wonderful cultivator who will do many great things… and I won't be there to see them."

Baishi felt the tears this time, because she was beginning to sob. She knew that she wouldn't be allowed to return once she left, and it was very possible that this would be their final goodbye. "You'll see them." She promised, though she didn't know how that would happen.

Her mother pulled her into a tight hug, quietly sobbing with her. After a few moments, she pulled away and looked behind Baishi. "A-Yong." He had approached them right before they hugged, and he bowed for Baoshan. "You will take care of my daughter, won't you?"

Yong nodded, letting his arms rest at his side. "With my life, Master Sanren."

Baoshan smiled, removing a bangle from her wrist and giving it to Baishi. "And you… don't tease A-Yong too much. He's giving up his life here to go with you, you know."

"You don't need to do that, A-Yong," Baishi immediately blurted out. "I don't want you to come if you're not going to be happy."

"I know." Yong smiled at them. "But I can't let you steal all the glory, can I?"

Baishi snickered, giving one last look to her mother. "Remember to listen for tales about me, okay? You're going to hear many."

"I can't wait."

"A-Yong… how long until we get to a city? We've been walking for forever." Baishi complained. It had only been a few hours.

Her brother sighed. "We haven't even made it down the mountain yet. I'm sure it'll be a few days before we even find a village, let alone a real city… nobody is going to be permitted to live close to Baoshan.

Baishi groaned, wishing she could just lie down and roll down the mountain. Unfortunately, it was less sloped than it had appeared from the cliffs near their home. "So boring…"

They had to stop and rest once, but only for a few hours. When the sun came up, they started their trek once more. It took them a day and a half before reaching a village: Lukou. Baishi had never heard of it, though she only knew of the great sects, so that was to be expected.

She had never seen so many people. There had to be at least thirty of them! Some were working at stalls, some were children playing, and others were customers or residents moving through the street to get somewhere. "Wow…" she whispered, watching them with wide eyes. "There's so many of them! A-Yong, let's go talk to someone!"

Yong grabbed her sleeve before she could run off. "Wait, A-Shi! Remember, you can't tell anyone where you came from." He reminded her, which oddly felt like a scolding.

"I know, I know!"

"And we can't buy a bunch of stuff, okay? We don't have that much money, so we need to make it last." Yong sighed when she ripped her sleeve out of his hand, taking off to go look at the stalls.

"Ah, young lady! Come, look! I have beautiful jewelry, befitting a lovely young lady such as yourself!" A plump, old man waved Baishi over, and she happily obliged. "Do you wear earrings, young lady?"

"No," Baishi answered, gently running a finger across a necklace. "But your jewelry is gorgeous… Do you make it all yourself? I have always had to make most of my own jewelry, but sometimes my mother brought me special gifts."

The man eyed her bracelet, which was light green with a fitted style. "I can see… Well, I happen to have a necklace that would match this bracelet!" He stated proudly.

Before he could show her, Yong interrupted. "A-Shi, stop wasting his time. Sir, we don't have any money. I apologize for my sister, she… she doesnt' get out much." He smiled at the man, but the merchant looked annoyed and 'hmp'ed' as he turned away.

"That was rude of him." Baishi scowled as they walked away. "His jewelry wasn't even that great… what a snob. He's the one who called me over, anyways!"

"Yes, that's how merchants are, A-Shi. They have to get people's attention." He smiled fondly at her. "Don't pay them any mind, alright? You're going to get a lot of attention. Pretty girls always do. It's been years since I've been away from home, but I know for a fact that hasn't changed."

Baishi gave him a confused look. "How would you know that? Just because it was like that when you were little doesn't mean it couldn't be different now."

"Because," Yong turned his head, smiling at a girl as they passed by, "back then, I liked to look at pretty girls… and, as it turns out, I enjoy it just as much now." Baishi groaned, trying not to cringe at him.

"I think you might just be mushy in the head." Baishi decided. Yong laughed at her, shrugging in response.

For a couple of hours, they went around the city, asking questions about the location and trying to acquire a map. Yong was successful in the latter, though the villagers didn't have much information on the happenings of the great sects or any politics. They were too small and secluded to know much.

In the village was an inn, but Yong didn't think that spending the money on a room was wise, so they made camp outside of the village. They would be moving on, anyways, so they decided to get ahead while they could. Luckily, Baoshan had sent them with a bit of money and as much food as they were able to take.

Night time came quickly. Baishi found herself staring up at the stars, wondering if any more would fall tonight. None of them seemed to move, aside from the usual twinkling. "Where should we go?" She asked Yong, quietly, in case he had fallen asleep.

He was quiet for so long, she thought he had succumbed to slumber. "I think we should go to one of the great sects to train with their disciples. You want adventure, and they're going to have plenty of opportunities for that. There's so much to learn, and we may even be able to go night hunting…"

"Okay." Baishi felt excited, but she was also very tired. Everything was so different, yet she knew she hadn't even experienced much. "Now that we've found a village, do you know how far we are from the sects?"

"Yes, vaguely. I picked up a map earlier, and it seems like we aren't too far from Lanling," Yong answered. "The Lanling Jin Sect is very noble, and they are the leading cultivators," he told her. "We would do good to join them."

Baishi trusted his word, because she, herself, knew little of the sects. She did know, however, that the Lanling Jin Sect played a big role in the downfall of Wei Wuxian— something they were oftentimes praised for. "I'm very excited. Okay, let's sleep now. We need to sleep so that we can get there already."

Yong chuckled, rolling onto his side to face away from her. "Then stop talking, A-Shi."

"Right. Good idea." Baishi pulled her blanket up higher, closing her eyes. "Goodnight, A-Yong."

"Goodnight, A-Shi."


End file.
